Bigby vs Dropbox: an honest comparison
Dropbox built its reputation on sync that just works, and that reputation is deserved. Bigby is built on a different promise: your files stay encrypted on UK servers, under UK law, with a company that never opens them. Here is how the two stack up, including where Dropbox is plainly better.
Side by side
Pricing checked June 2026. Dropbox prices change periodically and vary between monthly and annual billing, so treat theirs as approximate.
| Bigby | Dropbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | UK company, UK servers, UK GDPR. No US parent, no CLOUD Act exposure. | US company. Data subject to US law, including the CLOUD Act, wherever stored. |
| Content access | No scanning. Bigby does not open, scan or read stored files. | Dropbox holds the keys and can access content; files are processed for features and integrations. |
| AI and your files | Stored content is never used for AI training or analysis. | AI features such as Dash process file contents; third-party AI integrations available. |
| Business model | Subscriptions only. No advertising, no free tier, no investors to feed. | Subscriptions, plus a publicly listed company with growth pressure and an expanding product surface. |
| Encryption | Encrypted at rest on UK servers. | Encrypted at rest and in transit; Dropbox manages the keys. |
| Price for 1TB | £9.99 per user per month (Storage plan, annual billing). | Plus plan is 2TB for around £9.99 per month. Roughly twice the storage for the same money. |
| Free tier | None. | 2GB free. |
| Documents | Collabora docs, spreadsheets and presentations on Office plans. | Dropbox Paper, plus tight integrations with Microsoft Office and Google Docs. |
| Sync and mobile | Web and desktop. Sync is solid; mobile apps not yet available. | Best-in-class sync, selective sync and polished mobile apps. This is Dropbox’s home turf. |
| Exporting your data | WebDAV, standard tools, no export fees. | Straightforward via desktop client or web download. |
Choose Dropbox if
Sync quality is everything
Fifteen years of refinement show. Selective sync, smart sync, conflict handling and mobile apps are the most polished in the industry. If your workflow lives and dies by sync, Dropbox earns its keep.
You need more space for the money
Dropbox Plus gives you roughly twice the storage per pound compared with Bigby. For large media libraries where privacy is not the concern, that arithmetic matters.
Your team already runs on it
Shared folders, third-party integrations and muscle memory across a whole organisation are worth real money. Migration has a cost, and sometimes staying put is the rational call.
Choose Bigby if
Your files should stay in the UK
Dropbox is a US company, so your data answers to US law no matter where the servers sit. Bigby keeps everything on UK infrastructure under UK GDPR, with no US entity anywhere in the chain. For client records and confidential work, that distinction is the whole decision.
You want storage without AI ambitions
Dropbox is pushing into AI-powered search and assistants, which by definition process your content. Bigby’s position is simpler: stored content is never scanned, analysed or used for AI training. Not as a setting you toggle, but as the design of the business.
You want docs included
Dropbox stores files; for editing you bolt on Microsoft or Google. Bigby’s Office plans include Collabora documents, spreadsheets and presentations on the same private servers, from £5.99 per user per month. One subscription, no third-party processing.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dropbox bad for privacy?
Bad is the wrong word. Dropbox encrypts data and has a reasonable security record. The issue is structural: it is a US company that holds the encryption keys, can access content, and is building AI features that process what you store. If none of that troubles you, Dropbox is a fine product. If it does, you want a provider whose legal position and business model are different, which is what Bigby is.
How do I move my files from Dropbox to Bigby?
Your Dropbox folder is already an ordinary folder on your computer, so the simplest route is to copy it across with the Bigby desktop client or upload it through the web interface. For larger moves, connect to Bigby over WebDAV and copy everything with a standard sync tool. No conversion needed; files transfer as they are.
Why does Dropbox offer more storage for the same price?
Scale, mostly. Dropbox runs storage for hundreds of millions of users and prices accordingly. Bigby is a small UK operation running UK infrastructure, and the subscription is our only revenue. We would rather charge an honest price for a private service than chase Dropbox on cost per terabyte, because we cannot win that race and do not intend to run it.
Can a small team use Bigby the way we use Dropbox?
Yes. Shared folders, per-user accounts and browser-based document editing cover the core of how small teams use Dropbox. The Group plan gives three or more users the full Office tier from £4.99 per user per month. What you give up is the long tail of third-party integrations; what you gain is client data held in the UK under UK law.
Private storage, built in the UK
Encrypted UK cloud storage from £3.99 per month. No scanning, no AI training, no US jurisdiction.
Annual billing · All prices in GBP · UK data residency · GDPR compliant